CUPPOW! from Paper Fortress on Vimeo.

Yes, once again I have Pinterest to thank for this little lovely.

What are some of your favorite grocery budget “helps?”  (This week, I reinvented the leftover roast and veggies we had two nights ago into a really tasty beef pot pie. Real beef broth was the key, I think. As well as the addition of thyme. Hard to beat.)

First of all, my husband kept the kids downstairs for a whole day as a precaution and I tried to stay out of everyone’s way. Let’s face it. A puke bug at 38 weeks just isn’t ideal. Throughout the day I revisited The Purl Bee and resisted pinning every single one of the projects in Molly’s Sketchbook. Wow. Cannot wait to get back to sewing.

(Here’s an artsy pic my brother in law took of our stairwell. The only relevance I can think of for this picture in relation to this post is that I was upstairs that day, and everyone else was downstairs. Hence, the stairwell, which has been partially painted since then.)

While being quarantined, I cut out the pieces for these felt baby shoes, as well as the felt parts of these Valentines for my big boy to make. I also cut out some little red flannel hearts that I’m not sure what we’ll do with yet for my girlie’s Valentines. It has to be just the perfect project, you know.

Add in a few loads of laundry (some of them baby clothes– yay!), a light dinner of toast and honey for my sickies, some Christmas thank-you notes finally finished, and a belated birthday gift for a friend completed. (It was one of these, which I found out she wanted by stalking her pinboards. Sneaky.) I was also able to whip up some big brother/big sister shirts for my big kids, so it ended up being a pretty productive day in the confines of my bedroom.

We also had a quiet and restful weekend. I stayed in sweats and p.j. pants for most of it. Those are starting to be only things that are comfortable. Husband brought home some new ones for me, because a) he’s great and b) he read Rachel’s Baby Time post. (So, thanks Rachel, and congrats to you!) They are blue and gold (in support of the good ol’ Mountaineers), super duper comfortable, and pictured below in this shot with all four of my children, three of whom were building fortresses in preparation for a friendly game of Castle Wars (which was invented by the great SD Smith).

Yup, sometimes a change of plans is just what a person needs.

This tiny office space is just great, as is this work space. Oh how I love shelving. And I love seeing what people do with tiny corners of their houses.

Okay, this bathroom is nice. I love all the light, but was it really that bad to begin with? Come on over when you’re ready to tackle a REAL makeover, people. There is a claw foot tub out back and a pedestal sink in my garage, both just begging to be restored and installed….

And this house tour will make you smile, especially if you like old things and vintage decor. There’s quite a lot going on, but the kids’ rooms are especially sweet.

Here are a few “befores” of our new place. And while we’ve already done a little bit of painting, creative ideas for older farmhouses are welcome! My brother in law took all of these the morning of the move and I’m so glad he did! The whole day ended up being such a blur for me. I was too busy being sick, laying on a rug in the floor of my empty old house, which you can see in the first picture (bottom left corner).

We have 2 living rooms downstairs. The one with the mantle and heater is sort of morphing into a music room/library type of thing for now. It has since been painted, as have the second living room and the school room.

The second one, pictured here, is where a lot of our “living” happens: games, movies, reading, lounging, napping, Lego, drawing, laundry folding, etc.

Kitchen.

School room. The stripes are gone. It’s blue now. Ahhhh.

Steps, leading upstairs. I have so many ideas for this. It will be hard to pick one!

The only downstairs rooms not pictured are the laundry and bathroom. They were already piled up with boxes and things. Not much to see there.

They may not etch today’s accomplishments on memorial stone, but the thing is granite erodes anyways. And quiet people know it so we get up every day and we make the porridge and wash the underwear and pay the bills and tend to the hurting and we etch the love on the hearts, that which beats on without end and we pulse throughout the universe.

There’s a way to do work that lasts forever. Just do everything with love.

I used this silver plated copper wire (non-tarnish!) and some tiny round colorful beads in my favorite colors. You can also get a nice sterling silver chain at a good price, especially when using a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby.

Here is another project that was quick and fun to work on. These Yo Yo balls from Made by Joel made it into the kids’ stockings and they have had so much fun with them! They worked up really quickly and I enjoyed the minimal hand sewing that was involved.

I also learned about glass etching from a dear friend. And what a super simple way to personalize a great gift! (I plan on bringing this out a lot in the future, so watch out, you people in my gift-giving vicinity. You just might be getting some personlized glass-something-or-other in the future.) I had some (okay, dozens) of canning jars hidden in the treasure trove that is beneath my house. After a couple good cleanings, they were sparkly and I etched designs on them (with husby’s help, due to the fumes) and then filled them with homemade granola for some neighbors and friends. Sorry, no pic. Trust me, they were cute.

A couple pairs of handwarmers and a scarf, all made from felted sweaters just about rounds off all the craftinessI was able to accomplish during the Christmas season. I look forward to getting back into “creative mode” once this sweet baby girl makes her appearance…we’re within the 3 week range!

HT: Whit Elam

Vowels from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

Responsive reading is a great virtue for all ages! You promote it by asking questions. If you’ve read the book that a child is reading you can ask detailed ones, but even if you haven’t read it you can ask, “Who’s your favorite character? Why? What do you like best about the book? What do you like least? Would you recommend this to anyone? Whom would you recommend it to? Why would you recommend it?” Just getting them to put their instinctive responses into words is a great way to encourage them to formulate those responses more precisely. –Alan Jacobs

I sometimes feel bad that I’m not reading more for my own enjoyment. I know so many people can make time for it, even in similar situations to my own, with kids and homeschooling and housekeeping. I just have a hard time finding opportunities. But reading this post at SouleMama (written actually by the Papa) was so sweet and encouraging to me on that front. If you have a minute, you should give it a read. I tend to need perspective like this quite often…

Meanwhile, here’s a question for you concerning this book: Do you know why a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz has a tail? I don’t either. And are the pink and white checks his clothes? Or his skin? Just a little fruit of my responsive reading with my youngest…

Firstly, If you don’t look at any other links on this page, please do yourself a favor and read this post from Rachel . It contained so much of the perspective that I have been in need of lately. So familiar on so many levels. Good grief.  Here’s an excerpt:

I’m sure most of you have noticed the magnetic power of what you clean. Clean the bookshelf up, and everyone wants to read. Organize the little toys, and everyone wants to play with the things they have been callously walking on for days. This is a sign that you are succeeding, that your people love your work. Think of it like food, because that is how it is getting used.

Also enjoy some lovely and insightful conversations here between father and daughter on lots of motherhood topics. (You’ll see additional video links at the bottom of the page) Great stuff!

Books Should Be Free! (As my husband is a writer, I’m not quite sure I totally agree with this statement, but it doesn’t stop us from taking advantage of free audio books!) Check out all these children’s classics from the public domain. (HT Ann Voskamp)

Design Mom’s Living with Kids Series It’s all about the design of houses where children live. My goal for our home is for children to feel welcome and engaged. But I do have an eye for design and I think the two can be happily married. Warning: All the rooms are pristine, but don’t get a complex. We all know that we have to actually LIVE in our houses so they can’t be perfect all the time. I’m sure even these moms have clutter and laundry and Legos to deal with on a daily basis.

This ‘Living In’ post from Design Sponge. Don’t you just want to open a door to another world sometimes? Oh, Narnia…

Here’s a great tutorial about how to get started on Pinterest.

I always look forward to The Long Thread’s collection of favorite tutorials from the past year.

Have fun and don’t get lost!